Gaining a heart of wisdom
When he washed his disciples' feet, when he slipped away from the crowds for solitary prayer, when he honored, taught, and conversed with women, Jesus was a puzzle to his people. On Palm Sunday, we celebrate yet one more occasion in which "his disciples did not understand these things at first" because who rides into… Continue reading Did You Ever Wonder What It’s Like to be Humble?
Maybe you're old enough to remember an old song from the 1960s with the strong suggestion that "What the World Needs Now Is Love, Sweet Love." While I can't argue with the premise, I would humbly suggest that wisdom is a more immediate need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfHAs9cdTqg Wisdom presiding over love sounds like an equation with a… Continue reading What the World Needs Now is Authentic Intelligence (AI)
Fleming Rutledge wisely labeled the days we're living in as "the time between the times." We're a little bit like our Exodus ancestors, set free from slavery in Egypt, but not yet living in the Promised Land—having already received the benefits of a great salvation, but awaiting full redemption from sin's effects and consequences on… Continue reading Living as Family in the Time Between the Times
It goes without saying that my kids are raising my grandkids in a very different world than the world in which they were raised. Cultural pressures have dulled the sharp edge of conviction, leaving many parents unable to distinguish a safe path for their families. Furthermore, cultural change is so rapid that what "worked" for… Continue reading If You Don’t Teach Your Children, the World Will
How does one live well before God amid life's challenges? Most of our decisions have to be made on the fly—like taking a test we haven't studied for! Sometimes, the wise course of action is hard to discern, and making a call is impossible until the choice and its consequences are already in the rearview… Continue reading 2 Reading Strategies to Get Wisdom from the Word
This morning I received a text message from a friend. Far from profound, its point was simple inquiry: "How is your week going?You had a busy weekend.Praying for you." The gift of concern was carried on words.We're uniquely gifted in this era of electronic communication. Without stamps or ink or a footstep outside our snug… Continue reading For All the Ravens Who Carry Hope and Encouragement
My number one, life-long recurring dream has high school band as its setting. I'm playing the French horn in the front row during a concert. It's lovely, and all is well until I remember... The French horn is not my instrument. I don't know the first thing about how to play the French horn! Needless… Continue reading Have You Talked Yourself Out of Trusting God?
We've all experienced the dissonance of prayers that seem to go unanswered and struggled to understand why God behaves in ways or allows outcomes that seem incomprehensible to us. Bible scholars throughout history have advocated for a position of "holy indifference" to preside over our feelings when we're disappointed with the will of God. Indifference… Continue reading Why the Painful Struggle to Accept the Will of God?
For a family with four sons, close in age like little stairsteps, it seems impossible to fly under the radar. In restaurants, other customers would approach our table with compliments about boys who ate salad or boys who managed themselves politely. We may have heard more than our share of admonitions to "enjoy this stage… Continue reading How Your Imperfect Family Can Make an Eternal Impact
A beat-up black three-ring binder holds the record of 35 gardening years. I turn to it every spring because it remembers where the tomatoes grew last summer. It reminds me of the serendipitous genius of planting the peas next to the fence—a ready-made trellis! It helps me to foil the ravenous beetles by keeping me… Continue reading Life in the Garden on Your Bit of Earth
Living Our Days 